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There is no better way for young students to develop a greater understanding of and love of bird life than to design bird feeders/tables for the school grounds. Environmental education in a technology, social sciences and English setting.

These activities are language/social science related activities suitable for all class levels. They demonstrate that being environmentally friendly is simple, enjoyable and should be part of our everyday lives.

What is an eco-system? How large is an eco-system? How small can an eco-system be? Is our planet an ecosystem? Why does it have this name? What relationships do plants and animals have in an eco-system. Explorations for younger students to introduce this important environmental concept.

A low cost and educationally stimulating experience is to plan and implement a trip through our native bush. Many students have never experienced the sights, sounds, smells, peace and atmosphere of native bush. The bush offers wonderful opportunities for life-long recreation and there is still unspoilt bush close to most schools in New Zealand. The unit provides ideas for teachers to plan stimulating native bush experiences.

When we talk about the environment we use many special words. In this unit students explore the meaning of environment and learn and use special environmental words and apply them to specific parts of the environment.

A student worksheet that introduces young students to the concept of symmetry. Students are asked to draw through the line of symmetry using pictures of natural objects and animals. The worksheet concludes with finding the line of symmetry on man made objects and searching for other symmetrical objects around the school.

The kereru (NZ wood pigeons) are very important for keeping our forests healthy as they are the only birds that can spread the seeds of native trees. Unfortunately kereru are in decline through predation, habitat loss and damage, competition and illegal hunting. This unit provides ideas and linksfor your students to learn about these wonderful birds, the threats they face and their importance in the wider ecosystem.

EXPERIMENTS WITH LENGTH AND WEIGHT (Mathematics on an Environmental Theme)

Students are challenged to estimate the distance around large tree trunks and find a way to check their estimations. They are next challenged to come up with other creative ideas they can use to measure around the trunks of trees.

Part two challenges students to estimate the comparitive weight of many natural objects and check out their estimations using a balance scale. The unit concludes with the students arranging pictures of many different animals in order from lightest to heaviest and being able to justify their arrangement.

Activities and discussion topics to introduce the concept of noise pollution in the local environment. Students are encouraged to think of the consequences and discover ways that they can protect their hearing.

Social Sciences: Students will gain an understanding that the relationship between people and the environment they live in can be badly harmed by the vandalism of graffiti tagging. They will also learn that communities can band together and take positive actions to overcome these problems and restore community pride.

Health & PhysEd: In the context of removal and prevention of graffiti, students will gain an understanding of how participating in communal events enhances the well-being of a community. Students will also understand how planning and implementing a programme of community art will enhance their school and local environment.

Visual Arts: By exploring the process of making a mural, supported by the study of other artists’ works, students will take an appropriate, artistic imaginative, and creative response to creating community art.

Activities to stimulate observation and discussion about all the things that make up our school environment. Why do we make our school environment a pleasant place? Are there any ways that we could improve our school environment?

We are all aware of special places in our natural environment. Students are encouraged to investigate what makes them special, what they see, hear and smell in these environments and to think of ways they could improve them and/or actions they can take to keep them special.

Students are introduced to the concept that the environments that we play our sports on or in are very important. Students investigate how we can improve these environments and keep them tidy and healthy.

The teacher challenge is to plan a visit to the bush or the beach. Pre, during and post visit activities are provided to help teachers and young students get the most out of these environmental experiences.

Activities and discussion topics that introduce the concept of electricity and the most important part it plays in our everyday lives. Student then discover actions they can take to conserve electricity – in the classroom and at home.

What do students know about birds? Where do we find them? Can they name the birds that we find in our local gardens and parks? Tons of investigations and ID bird activities including listening to pre-recorded bird songs of New Zealand birds on the web.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE FOR THIS UNIT

Vist the website 'What Bird' to allow students to see what our birds look like and to hear their songs.